


In the Great Hall

by Honest_Brain



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Gen, Marauders' Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-10
Updated: 2016-06-10
Packaged: 2018-07-14 05:14:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7155170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Honest_Brain/pseuds/Honest_Brain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The exact moment James Potter falls in love with Lily Evans. </p><p>Or alternatively, Remus John Lupin is a bastard and is not to be trusted.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In the Great Hall

Remus John Lupin, James Potter decided as he lay on the floor in the Great Hall near the middle of the Gryffindor table, was a complete and utter _piece of shit._ As he waited for his vision to stop spinning and for the thunderous laughter to settle down (fat chance of that happening), he realized he had no one to blame but himself, really. After all, it wasn’t like this was a brand new realization. 

He had found out – they had all found out, really – in their first year that the scarred little boy sharing their dormitory couldn’t be underestimated. He was clever, with bright eyes and a sharp mischievous energy bubbling underneath his innocent and soft boyish features. He was usually the mastermind and conductor behind most of their pranks, and yet, James thought with a huff, he was also the one with the least amount of detentions on his record. And the one given the most trust from their professors. It was accomplishments like this that had James Potter in awe of Remus Lupin. _Except now_ , he thought sourly, having been the victim this time. Though he would be lying if he said there wasn’t a part of him that bristled at pride at how Remus had so effortlessly played him. If it wasn’t for the lovely Lily Evans, James wondered how long it would have taken him to declare his love for Remus Lupin since the formation of their friendship. 

Speaking of the lovely Lily Evans, her face came into his line of vision. Flushed with laughter, her lips were pulled into a wide smile as she knelt down next to him. He smiled automatically, all thoughts of Remus pushed aside for the moment. Later, he would contemplate how easy it was for him to smile around her, almost like it was something ingrained into his very soul. He was almost like one of those muggle Pavli (Pavvy? Povli? Paviv?) dogs Remus sometimes spoke about – the ones that had the same automatic response to something. 

“I think you might have twisted your ankle, Potter,” he struggled to hear her say, busy admiring her. There was still too much laughter in the background, and he knew even without looking that Remus was among them. Sirius and Peter too, probably, the traitors. He tried to move his legs, weighed down by the heavy fabric of the gown he was wearing. He couldn’t tell if his ankle was twisted or broken. Or if it was fine underneath the weight of the dress material. He’d have to take her word for it if something was indeed wrong. She must have seen it when he fell, overwhelmed by the material and complicated dance. 

“Did it work?” he asked. “Did I do it right?” 

Lily bit her bottom lip. “Potter,” she started slowly, as if unsure how to break the news to him, “there isn’t a muggle courtship dance ritual when asking someone out.” She laughed at him then, unable to hold back. James smiled even wider. In the back of his mind he wondered if those weird muggle dogs came in deer form too. He wondered if he could get one for Lily. 

“Remus said it’d be improper to ask you out without the ritual. Said it was customary for all muggle boys to do this, and that's why you kept turning me down before,” he mumbled, though as soon as the words had left his mouth he knew that he’d been lied to. Lily laughed even harder, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes. He could almost hear her struggling for breath. 

“I don’t think he was telling you the truth,” she said when she managed to reel in her laughter. 

“I figured,” he said, smiling at her still. He loved it when she laughed. It was never malicious, even if she was laughing at him, like now. Like most times, actually, if he bothered to really think about it. “Go out with me anyways?” he asked. 

Lily let out an undignified snort, laughter threatening to come out again. “I don’t know, Potter. You didn’t perform the customary dance ritual properly,” she teased him. 

“I’ll learn,” he responded automatically as his brain tried to remind him there was no customary dance ritual. It was worth it though, he thought, when she laughed again. 

“Let’s get you off the ground first,” she said and reached down to help him to sit up. His heart soared when she touched him, even though they were both struggling with the extremely heavy gown he was wearing. He’d have to ask Remus what it was made of some other time. For now, he relished at the fact that he was this close to Lily. “I think you might have a concussion to from that dopey look on your face,” she muttered. 

“I’m just smiling, Lily,” he said, resisting the urge to close his eyes and lean against her. She was too lovely. So lovely. It was amazing that he’d finally gotten to be friends with her after years of a tumultuous relationship with her. It was satisfying to know that he hadn’t wasted his love. She was every bit as amazing as the idea of her he had built up in his head. Except she was real. And she was his friend. Lily grunted. 

“How did you even manage to walk down to the Great Hall in this get up anyways?” He looked at her face, still red from laughter and the minor exertion to get him to sit upright. Her hair was falling out of her loose bun, messily framing her face. 

“Remus charmed it so it wouldn’t weigh as much,” he answered. 

Lily rolled her eyes. "Of course.” 

“You’re so lovely,” he said, and smiled even wider when she laughed again. Lovely. He’d have to come up with another word to describe her soon if he wanted to keep talking to her, lest she think he had a limited vocabulary. But at the moment, the nice buzz he felt from her laughter was enough to continue using that same word. Why fix something that wasn’t broken? 

“Think he can charm it weightless again so you can get to the hospital wing?” she asked, lifting up one delicate eyebrow. James briefly wondered what it would be like to kiss it. James glanced towards where his friends sat. Sirius, laughing, was no doubt re-enacting parts of his dance routine and Peter was enjoying the show and his breakfast. Remus, on the other hand, just gave him a smirk, eyes dancing with joy as they looked right at him. _Bastard_ , James thought. 

“Not likely,” he said with a sigh, looking back at Lily. _Much better sight_ , he thought and smiled. It was ridiculous how easy it was to smile in her presence, despite whatever else was happening to him. He could almost forget the heavy weight of all the clothes Remus had assured him was necessary when performing the ritual. He wondered if he would ever not smile at the sight – or thought, really – of Lily Evans. 

He saw Lily look up at Remus and chew on her bottom lip for a few seconds before looking back at him. He wondered if Lily saw the smirk too, or if Remus had already gotten rid of it by then. She leaned in closer and his heart went into a staccato rhythm, disrupted by her intimacy. He couldn’t tell if his sudden inability to breathe was due to the hefty clothing crushing his body or if it was because this was the closest he’d ever been to the lovely Lily Evans. 

“You know,” she whispered, and he had to concentrate on her words and not the warm breath of air near his ears, “when you decide to get back at Remus, I’ll help.” 

James looked at her in surprise. Everything seemed to stop. There was an ocean in his ears, and he couldn’t hear the Great Hall any longer. Lily’s green eyes were brighter than he’d ever remember seeing them. This was it, he decided. This was how he fell in love. He took time to memorize everything about this moment. When he told her later, it had to be perfect. 

He smiled.


End file.
